AS5 Results

Yesterday I got up the nerve to poke around in my laptop and see what I could do about it's paste. My laptop by no means was overheating (~52-53C load with an E0 Prescott), but I figured it couldn't hurt given the TIMs I've heard of on other laptops.

After spending a good while disassembling the thing (no guides on the net ), I managed to finally crack the thing open and get at it's HS. A few more minutes of struggling, and the HS was finally removed. The TIM used in my laptop was some kind of grey paste, which Gateway went a smidge heavy on (not overboard, but there was still a reasonable amount leaking off the edge of the heatspreader). I cleaned off the paste with my trusty isopropyl, and whipped out my tube of AS5.

I followed the instructions for AS3 application (spread a thin layer on the die, glaze the HS, mate the two) rather than the more reccomended AS5 method, since I could not apply even vertical pressure while mounting.

The results so far are full load temps of ~57C (up from ~52-53C with the stock TIM) I'm hoping to see a drop of several degrees as the paste settles in, though I don't think I'll see it drop enough to get it below where it started out at. I may try reapplying the AS5 later down the road (or perhaps some Ceramique I have lying around) if it dosen't drop to at least 54C, since my layer might have been a bit thick, and the tube has been stored horizontally for several months (AS reccomends storing it vertically, but I have no way to).

One good thing though is that it speaks to the quality of TIM that Gateway uses on my laptop's model. It dosen't look exactly like AS5, though it is also a thick grey substance with apparently good thermal characteristics. Kudos to them for not using some kind of pad or spacer which would unnesscarily heat up this already hot chip.

JigPu

Grey or black paste is usually Shin Etsu. So looks like they were using good stuff. Reason why you're getting higher temps is because the Shin Etsu has already filled the micro cracks. The AS5 is just getting in the way. You'll need something to really clean the sink to get it out of the micro cracks such as the AS Cleaner stuff.

Wouldn't hurt to lap it a tad. Get some 1200 grit and give her a shot.

OK, I took Tebore's suggestion and really cleaned the thing off. I would have lapped it as well except a) I'm a lapping n00b b) the HS has parts that "stick down" below where it contacts the die, making a good lap quite difficult (if not impossible).

Since I don't have any AS cleaner on me (and I didn't feel like ordering any given how often I actually change/apply paste), I once again used my Isopropyl but this time was much more cautious of the cleaning procedure. Initially I used the 4 corners of a paper towel on both the HS and die to remove all the visible AS5. After this, there was no visible AS residue appearing on the towel anymore. I then switched to a lint-free cloth and proceeded to continue cleaning in various directions until the alcohol evaporated evenly and without leaving any haze behind. Satisfied that both the HS and die were clean at this point, I once again applied AS5 using the "blob in the center" technique that is reccomended (last time I applied a thin layer due to a few concerns of the HS mounting).

Intial results look better, with it's load temp at 55C (and it took a while of being at 54C to hit that temp). Still not quite as good as the stock stuff, but definatly much more reasonable than the near-60C I was getting.

Thanks for the suggestions guys
JigPu

I dunno, but I recently cleaned mine, it had a aluminum waxpad, so I cleaned all the wax residue off with some nailpolish remover and applied AS5 and it gave me a real improvement...